Once Upon A Diary
by Let's Call Her The Tarryn
Summary: Casey and her life. Not much to tell, you would think. But with Derek in it, there's plenty. In comes her diary, which she decided to make a fairytale. It starts with Once Upon A Time. But will it end with her Happily Ever After? [MAJOR HIATUS]
1. Introduction

_Okay, another story. I know that I shouldn't start another one, with all the other ones out there. But I just couldn't help it! I hope you like it!_

_Enjoy! _

_x―x_

_Once upon a time, _

_There was a lovely teenage girl. And her name was Casey. She had such a wonderful life with her mother and sister. And everything was perfect. Especially since, not only was she just a lovely teenage girl, she was a princess. Princess Casey, daughter of Queen Nora, and older sister to Princess Elizabeth, (who liked to be known as Lizzie.). And together the reigned comfortably in the glorious Kingdom of Toronto._

_Until her fairytale life took a fairytale turn for the worse. _

_Cinderella had her evil stepmother and sisters after her father died. Sleeping Beauty had the curse. Snow White was too pretty for her stepmother's liking. _

_Princess Casey's problem was that her mother had remarried, and was perfectly, unattainably happy._

_'What's so wrong about that?' you may wonder?_

_Casey was completely happy that her mother was happy. Queen Nora was now joined by King George. And Prince Edwin. And Princess Marti. They were King George's youngest children. Now, Princess Casey didn't mind any of this. She didn't mind that she had to go to a new Royal Academy. And she was even able to accept leaving the Kingdom of Toronto, to move to King George's Kingdom. But that's where the bad started. _

_Because King George also had another son. A son that was the same age as Princess Casey. Prince Derek was what he should have been called, and even though his father was king, he still fancied himself as the King, more so. And he really acted like it. He called Himself King Derek, and he acted like the whole Kingdom was his. He was filthy, and annoying, and insulting to royal status. And he loved to get a rise out of his new step-sister, Princess Casey herself._

_And now Princess Casey's elegant, delicate, poised life was full of bickering fights that were clearly unladylike. Trips and falls, and embarrassments. And it was all because of 'King' Derek._

Casey Macdonald stared at her computer screen, and read through what she had written. She wasn't even completely sure why she had written it. She had been thinking lately that she should start some sort of diary, and she decided to write it on her computer's word document. But when she sat down and started typing, this was what had come out. A diary that was formatted like a fairytale. _Well, it's original. _She thought to herself.

Casey was about to start typing more, but didn't get a chance to, because she was startled to find that a heavy fist was pounding on her closed bedroom door. Casey sighed, and saved what she had written _At least I started an introduction of sorts. _Casey turned in her swivel chair and got up to walk to the door, where incessant pounding was still occurring on the opposite side.

Casey swung her bedroom door open only to find a very annoyed looking Derek.

"May I help you?" Casey asked, folding her arms across her chest.

Derek's head was tilted down, and he glared up at his step-sister.

"Dad and Nora are taking Marti to the zoo tomorrow. Lizzie has that ti-kwon-karate thing, or whatever, and Edwin told Dad last week that he was going to climb some tree. So guess who has to stay home tomorrow and clean house?"

"Umm. You?" Casey asked, hopefully.

"Egh. Wrong. Both of us." Derek said.

"By the 'both of us' you know that means both of us cleaning, not you leaving, or sitting on the couch, letting me do all the work." Casey said.

She didn't really mind having to stay home and clean. She usually did that just to relax, especially since no one else was about to whip out the vacuum. And it wasn't like she had plans for tomorrow. Casey was saddened to say that her Saturday probably would have consisted of her cleaning anyway. But it was the fact that she had been appointed to clean with Derek that didn't exactly thrill her to pieces. Even though she had just told him, it was very likely that he'd try and watch t.v. when he was supposed to clean.

"Yeah, yeah. I know Casey."Derek said.

Then he turned around and went to his room, slamming the door. Seconds later, loud music blasted, and strained through Casey's walls. _I swear that boy must have PMS. It would explain a lot. _Casey thought as she closed her own bedroom door, and sat down on her bed.

When Derek was in his moody moods, music would scream from his stereo, forcing everyone in the house to listen to it. But when he was normal, (which isn't really normal, since it's Derek, and Derek isn't normal. But we're talking jackass Derek normal) he would listen to music on his ipod, which is the practical thing to do. But Derek is rarely practical, especially when he in his 'in need of midol' moods.

Casey sighed as she threw her back down on the bed, and looked up at her ceiling. She could clearly hear the song that Derek was playing so loud. Move Along, by the All-American Rejects. She closed her eyes and whispered the words.

_When all you got to keep is strong_

_Move along, move along like I know you do_

_And even when your hope is gone_

_Move along, move along just to make it through_

_Move along_

_Move along_

Casey opened her eyes again and rolled over on her side.

_With the way things are going. _Casey thought to herself. _I'm not too sure about Princess Casey and her happily ever after._

Casey let her eyes flutter closed, and she fell asleep to dreams of castles and balls, and her nonexistent Prince Charming.

x―x

Okay, so that's the start. I hope you guys approve it. Please. PLEASE! Review!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean, it's such a pretty little button... So CLICK IT:)

Danke!

-Tarryn


	2. A Royal Mess

I have fully realized, in my long absence from this story, that I have absolutely no plot for this story. I guess this will be a guessing game for us all, since after each chapter, I, as well as you, will be wondering what is going to happen in the next chapter:)

Anyway, here is chapter 2!

x--x

Enjoy!

_Dear Diary,_

_The Oh-So-Important "King Derek" has been even more atrocious than usual. He stomps around the palace as though he owns everything. Including the rights to bicker with me. I find it idiotic, but we always seem to be fighting over everything, even things that shouldn't matter at all._

_For example, we fought over a palace bedroom. His palace bedroom, to be exact. My sister Lizzie and I were forced to share a room, which is completely unacceptable, because we both needed our space. So I, being Princess Casey, started a crusade to overtake Derek's royal room._

_I am saddened to say it did not work. I got my own room, yes. My mother and King George's room, to be exact. Derek kept his room, that filthy brat. And now my mother and King George have resided in the Dungeon. It's not as horrible as it may sound, because the dungeon is actually a very comforting place, unlike those in other castles and palaces._

_It bothers me very much that "King" Derek always seems to get his way, even in little things like un-royal like wrestling matches for the remote to the television. But for some reason, it bothers me so much more that Derek starts these fights. Always wanting to argue with me. Always wanting to push me down._

_I think this bothers me because I really want us to get along. But when I try to be courteous and nice, he brushes it away and takes something from me._

_Why do I want to get along with such a loathsome creature? I'm really not even sure yet. It is something mysterious that I do not understand. I'm trying not to get tired of trying. I'll break through at some point. I don't know how long it will take, but that's one battle I will win. In time._

_HRH_

_Casey_

Casey saved another entry into her diary. It was the first time she had allowed herself to admit that she wanted to get along with Derek. For some reason, it was really hard for her to admit. She found that absurd, but she struggled with it.

She actually thought Derek had potential of being a pretty cool person. She had been in a house with him for several months now, and she had observed Derek. Sure, he was cocky, and popular, and a bit of a player. But she had taken notice to the moments where Derek actually seemed like a human being. Mostly moments when he was with Marti. He really loved that kid. But Casey had to hope he wouldn't corrupt Edwin any farther than he already had.

Casey heard a banging on her door, and it didn't take a genius to figure out who it was.

Casey got up and opened the door, swiftly avoiding being punched in the chest, because Derek was still repeatedly banging on the door.

"Watch it." Casey said, annoyed already.

"Do you know what day it is?" Derek asked.

"Um, Saturday?"

"Yes. It is Saturday. Which means yesterday must have been Friday."

"Do you have a point?" Casey asked, crossing her arms across her chest, contemplating whether she should start the foot tapping tactic.

"Do you remember our conversation yesterday? The one where I told you that we had to clean today?"

"Oh, yeah." Casey said as she remembered.

"_Oh, yeah. _Well everyone has been gone for a half hour, and I've been patiently waiting downstairs, expecting you to come along, since you're usually so on top of things, but here I am, having to come get you. You really should be ashamed. I mean, how embarrassing for you to have _me_ of all people reminding you to do something like clean."

"Sorry." Casey said, trying to hold back her mounting annoyance.

"Whatever, just get your non-ass down and help me clean." Derek said, turning to go toward the stairs.

Casey quickly closed her door and followed.

"Who are you calling Non-Ass? I have an ass!" Casey said, self consciously taking a quick glance at her behind while following Derek.

Derek stopped in the middle of the stairs, causing Casey to stop abruptly to avoid knocking into him.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Case."

"You're delusional. I have an ass. More than you!"

"What are you doing looking at my ass for? Comparison?" Derek asked.

"What are you doing looking at my ass at all?" Casey countered.

"I'm sorry, but I have to live with that ass, that really shouldn't be called an ass anyway, and I fight with that ass, I'm sorry if it's ALWAYS THERE." Derek said, and then started down the stairs again.

"I still-" Casey began when they reached the landing, but Derek cut her off.

"For the love of God, women, shut up, and make yourself useful." Derek said, motioning to a small pile of cleaning appliances near the bottom of the stairs.

"What's with you and your adamant behavior about cleaning, anyway?" Casey asked ignoring the woman comment. She just didn't feel like spilling out her degrading women lecture then, and she didn't feel like feeling even more annoyed when Derek wouldn't listen to anything she would have said..

It's a forced endeavor, if you must know." He sneered.

"And since when are you convinced to clean when told?"

"Since my dad told me that if I don't bring up my grades and help around more, _he _will pull me out of hockey." Derek murmured.

"Ha. You know that I could use that piece of information against you. With all the things you've done, I could just say I cleaned and you didn't. And who do you think they'd believe?" Casey said, but slightly surprised Derek had shared that information with her.

"Yeah, but you'll never do that." he said.

"Oh, and what makes you so sure?" Casey asked, putting a hand on her hip.

"Because no matter what I do to you, and no matter how much you try to convince the both of us that you'll do something to get back at me, you're just not like me. You can't do something so conniving as I would." Derek stated.

Casey knew that he was absolutely correct, and that no matter what threatening words she tossed out, she wouldn't do anything, and they both knew it. But even though he was right, Casey have rathered

drinking a glass of one of Marti's bath product concoctions than admit it.

"Don't underestimate me." Casey said with an arched eyebrow and an empty threat.

"Don't you like to clean? Can't you do it now?"

Casey rolled her eyes, but decided she had had enough bickering for now. There would be more later. There always was. She lightly picked up the mop and bucket that had been placed in the pile.

"Why is all this cleaning stuff out here, anyway?" Casey asked.

Derek picked up a box and pulled out several dusting gloves, scrunching his nose as if they were the dirty objects, not what you could use to clean dirty objects. "I dunno. I guess just Nora or my dad's way of subtle torture."

"How so?" Casey asked.

"Placing all this stuff out here. It's like telling us we have to use all of it in some way to clean. And look at this pile. We've got a lot to clean."

"Oh." Casey said.

Casey wasn't sure if she should say something else, but she didn't have to wonder anymore when Derek left the room with the dusting gloves. Casey took the mop and the bucket into the kitchen, and carefully placed the bucket in the sink and turned on the faucet. She leaned against the counter and waited for the bucket to fill. She glanced at it after a moment, and saw that barely any water had collected at the bottom. She turned the faucet on all the way, but there was a measly difference in the water flow. This was going to take a while.

Casey tapped her foot as she waited for the bucket to even halfway fill. She looked back, and barely any progress had been made. Then she heard a crashing from somewhere in the house, and her heart dropped. She bolted toward the noise when a loud profanity groaned by Derek sounded through the house.

"What'd you do-ooh..." Casey trailed of in her own sentence when she stopped in the living room.

Derek stood fuming in front of a pile of broken glass and crushed daisy's.

"Please Derek, if only to spare us both stress and panic, please tell me that is not the pile of what was formerly the vase and flowers that George got my mom for Valentine's Day." Casey said, putting a hand to her head.

Derek looked up, glaring, more because of the answer to that question, than Casey or the question itself.

"Oh, God." Casey murmured, knowing she didn't need Derek to answer, not that he would, because it was obviously a stupid question for the situation.

"What-" Casey rubbed her temple as she leaned down to the pile. "What happened?" she sighed, picking up a shard of glass, and dropping it again, before looking up at Derek.

Derek groaned, and squatted down with Casey. "I have no idea. I was just dusting." Derek raised his still gloved hand. "And it just...fell."

"How convenient." Casey said.

"Don't even start." Derek said.

"What?"

"Your, 'Of course something like this would happen while you're doing it.' thing. The tangent about how I mess things up, and only destroy. And usually you are able to incorporate how you wouldn't have messed things up, somewhere in the underbelly of the lecture." Derek sneered.

Casey sighed, but didn't reply to that.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about this. I suggest just sweeping it up, and telling my mom and George when they get back."

"Or," Derek said. "We could sweep it up, and pretend like it never happened."

Casey once again ignored him. She was about to tell him to get the dust pan, when she realized that she had left the water on in the sink.

"Oh, God."

She got up and ran toward the kitchen, and before she could stop, she slid on a puddle of water that was forming and spreading across the kitchen floor from where water was spilling out of the sink and bucket and over the counter.

Surprisingly, Casey felt a hand grab at her waist, preventing her from falling onto the tile-for the moment. Until Derek also lost his footing, sending them both to the floor. Casey rubbed her elbow where it had hit the tile. Both of their bottoms were wet, and getting more soaked, as water continued to spill over to the floor. Derek glared at Casey.

"How convenient." He sneered.

x--x

Okay, I shall find more to write about on this story! I will!

Hope you all liked it!

Please REVIEW!!!

Thanks!

-Tarryn


	3. In Wanting?

An update. Whoo-hoo! Well, I'm anxious to get my unfinished stories finished, because I've got some new stories in the works that I really like, but I don't want to start popping them out until I clean up my loose ends. That's why, in the mean time, as I'm finishing up my unfinished stories, I'm trying to finish as many chapters on new stories as possible, that way I won't be in the position I am in now, with a bunch of stories that don't get updated for months, leaving all of you waiting. So, I'm actually trying to work up a system to keep you guys happy. I love you all _that _much. I'm trying to organize everything, and organization is _so _not my thing. Anyway, onward to the chapter! (:

x—x

"This _was_ your fault, you know." Casey said, mopping up the rest of the water from the floor as Derek cleaned off the counter.

"Of course it was. And, pray tell, how did you come up with this conclusion?" Derek asked snidely.

"If you hadn't broken the vase, I wouldn't have come to see what had happened-"

"And you wouldn't have left the water running. Blah, blah, blah." Derek finished.

Casey glared at him.

"It's _true."_ Casey assured.

"You're the one that forgot about the water. You were supposed to help me clean, not create more for us to clean." Derek said.

Rolling her eyes, Casey said, "Oh, like it's not you and your dirty laundry and empty chip bags laying around that I usually have to clean."

"That's off the topic." Derek said.

"Because it's not what you want to talk about. God, Derek, not every thing's about you."

"You're the only person who thinks so."

"It only takes one person to make a difference." Casey sneered.

"People actually have to listen to you." Derek said.

"You pay an awful lot of attention to me. Does that mean you listen?"

"You're always letting me get to you, so you _must _listen to me." Derek retorted.

"You're so-"

"Inconsiderate, conceited, snobby, frustrating, retched." Derek cut Casey off. "Shall I continue?"

"No." Casey glared at Derek. "I think it's quite all right."

"You know I'm also charming, debonair, hot, desired, wanted, incredible-"

"Not to me." Casey assured.

Derek looked at her like she was crazy.

"You know, with how much you loathe me, you must be really attracted to me. And it kills you." Derek said, pompously.

"Oh, then it must be really hard for you not to jump me, since you hate me more than I hate you." Casey sneered.

"I never said that." Derek said.

"Why don't you just stop talking, because it's all just coming back and biting you in the ass."

Derek turned away from her, but couldn't help but murmur, "I so don't want to jump you."

"I'm so sure." Casey said.

"What, you think I want you, or something?" Derek asked, turning back to her.

"Apparently you think I want you." Casey narrowed her eyes.

"Everyone does."

"I'm not everyone."

"So I've noticed."

"Derek, the only thing that kills me is that I can't kill you. If anyone's wanting anyone here, it's you wanting me. You treat me like a third grader with a crush, with all the teasing you do."

"That's no wanting, that's boredom." Derek said.

"That's ignorance." Casey corrected.

"You're like a toy I can throw down the stairs on a rainy day."

"I'm like the girl in pigtails you chase around at recess." Casey said.

"And you say _I'm _full of myself." Derek said.

_How did this end up turning around to _me_ supposedly liking _her? _That's not how the conversation started out. _Derek thought to himself.

"Oh, you are." Casey remarked.

"Yet, here you are saying that I, Derek Venturi who could have _any _girl, want _you. _Not very realistic, are we?"

"Tell me how realistic it is for me to want you, then?" Casey raised her eyebrow.

"More realistic than your thought." Derek said.

"Sure." Casey said, sounding unconvinced.

"You know-"

"Derek, you do realize that we're arguing over whether or not we want to make out with each other. I mean, do you _want _me to want to make out with you? Do you want to make out with me, or something? Because I really don't see why this is something we are arguing about."

Derek's jaw dropped. "No, I don't want to make out with you!"

"Okay. Then let's drop this." Casey said resolutely, and then started to walk past Derek. But she didn't get very far, since she slipped on water she somehow had missed and hadn't mopped up.

Derek stepped forward, quickly catching Casey before she cracked her head on the linoleum.

"It's like you're freaking cursed with klutziness." Derek said,lifting her to standing position, but not removing his hand from the small of her back.

"Seeing as I think you're the _devil, _you're probably the one that cursed me." Casey sneered.

"I'm not the devil!" Derek gasped, as if he was offended.

But after a second of looking at each other, they both burst out laughing.

"You're impossible." Casey chuckled, shaking her head.

Derek looked down and smiled at Casey, just as she looked up at him. It was only then that they realized how close they were standing, with Derek's hand still on Casey's back.

As if being pulled magnetically, Derek found himself leaning down toward Casey.

"Derek-" Casey felt like she was choking on her own words, with Derek's face centimeters from her own.

Then the doorbell rang, and they both sprung apart.

"I'll get it." Casey said eagerly, practically running out of the room.

_Did we just almost...? _Derek thought to himself, rooted to the floor. _Uh-oh._

Casey answered the door, hoping it was Sam or Emily, but it wasn't. It was a man she didn't know, in a suit, and an advertising smile.

"Why, hello there. I was wondering if you currently have an efficient and satisfying vacuum cleaner in the house?" He asked like he was Mr. Sunshine.

"Yes. Now, bye." Casey said, closing the door on the man.

She didn't even feel bad about it. Because she felt like she was going to throw up. Casey quickly ran up the stairs and into her room, slamming the door behind her. She realized that the door slamming wasn't exactly necessary. But it was a reaction.

_We didn't almost...? _Casey threw herself onto her bed.

"Oh, God." She murmured to herself before burying her face in a pillow.

x—x

Casey didn't come back downstairs to help clean.

Derek decided against going upstairs to try and get her back to helping him. He didn't really want to see her. It was already way too confusing.

Instead of concentrating on Casey, Derek busied himself with cleaning. At least one good thing had come out of the almost-mishap: Derek was speed cleaning like he never had before, just to keep himself busy. In an hour, everything was spotless.

He looked around, slightly proud at his work. Then realizing he had nothing to occupy his mind, he decided he needed out.

After Casey had buried her head in the pillow, she had dozed off on a small nap, of which she was awoken by hearing the front door being closed.

Casey got up and looked out her window to see Derek walking down the driveway, and then heading off down the street, probably to Sam's.

Sighing with relief, Casey tumbled downstairs to fix herself a snack, before going back to her room. On her way, she couldn't help but notice how clean everything was. Either Derek had brought in a cleaning crew, or...

_He actually cleaned? _Casey thought to herself.

_To keep his mind off of... _Casey began to wonder, but stopped and went upstairs, back to her room.

After finishing her snack, she paced around her room, restless. Finally she sat down at her computer and brought up her diary document.

_Dear Diary,_

_A sum of my day so far could be compiled in three simple words: A Royal Mess. _

_It's all quite confusing. Derek rounded me up this morning to clean the palace, and order given by King George, while the rest of the royal family went out for the day. Derek and I separated among the palace to clean, but I heard a crash, and so went to find what it was. Of course, it was Derek's fault; a bouquet of daisies and the vase they were in had crashed to the ground. They were the ones King George got my mother. As we argued over the mishap, I remembered that I had left water running in the sink of our kitchens._

_Of course, that was another mess. Derek and I both ended up falling in water that had spilled to the floor. And as we cleaned that up, another argument ensued. Which also confuses me, because it was an argument Derek started; about whether we may be pursuing one another in a romantic way. Which is, of course, absurd. I believe he thought so, as well. But then, why would he bring such a thing up? As it is, I ended the conversation with the intentions of leaving the room, but I slipped in water I had not mopped up. Derek caught me before I fell, and we laughed at the situation...But then the most peculiar thing happened. I...I think we almost _kissed.

_I know! I don't understand it, but I think that's what almost happened. He was leaning in...we were quite close. I think he actually would have ended up kissing me if a salesman hadn't knocked on the palace doors. And, perish at the thought, I may have let him kiss me! Derek, not the salesman. How completely impossible is that? I just don't understand._

_It's _Derek!_ And it's _me._ We completely detest one another. So how could such a thing almost occur? I'm so mixed up about the situation that I don't even know how I feel. Wait, of course I do! How absurd! I mean, I didn't _want _Derek to kiss me._

_Did I?_

_Oh, goodness, this can't lead to anything good, can it?_

_HRH_

_Casey_

x—x

Okay, folks, a finished chapter! Gosh, I'm glad. I actually like this story, even though I have no idea whatsoever what I'm going to do with it.

Eeek, my toes are cold. Wait, that doesn't matter. Anyway.

I hope you guys liked it. Please review, loves. (:

-Tarryn


	4. Exqsquisite Annoyance

Eeep! An update. It took me a while to become inspired for this chapter, and I am still completely incapable for a mapping out a plan for this story, so I'm just going with the flow, hoping that whatever comes from this chapter will inspire the next, and so on. This is probably the story that should be most frustrating for me, but for some reason, I can't help but love it. (:

Enjoy!

x—x

After walking for a good five minutes, Derek realized that he had no idea where he was headed, exactly. He looked at his surroundings, and considered turning around and going home.

The thing with Casey didn't_ have_ to mean anything. He could just pretend that it was nothing, and then she would as well, and they could go back to screaming and fighting; what they were good at.

_Or I could just kiss her. _Derek thought.

Immediately Derek's jaw dropped at his own thought.

_How, _he wondered, _could such a ridiculous thing even run through my head? The whole kissing thing isn't a problem. It was just heat of the moment. Once I decide to go back home, it'll have blown over. She may not even think we almost kissed._

Of course, he knew that it was obvious. They both knew what had almost happened. And it most definitely was an almost-kiss.

He decided that he was not ready to go home, even if Casey kept herself holed up in her room. It was just too awkward a notion to deal with then. So he kept walking. Seconds later, he realized that the obvious place to go, would be Sam's place. So that's where he set his sights while he kept walking. Which was why it was a surprise when he watched Sam round the corner and begin walking down the street toward him, a moment later.

"Hey," Sam said, when they got a little closer. Both stopped walking.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked.

"I was actually heading to your place. Where are you going?" Derek asked.

"I was going to your place-"

"Oh, cool, now we can just skip the whole houses thing, and go somewhere to hang." Derek nodded.

"Um, actually, I was going to your place because Casey called and asked if I wanted to hang out." Sam said, bashfully shoving his hands into his pockets.

Derek faltered, "Oh."

They stood in silence for a moment, until Derek heard himself say,

"I thought you guys had ended it. For real."

_That's what I say? Why would I even care? I never wanted him dating her in the first place. Wait, that sounds protective of Casey. I meant that I never wanted my best friend dating my annoying Casey. I mean annoying step-sister. Oh, God, did I seriously just think 'my annoying Casey'? Putting 'My' and 'Casey' in the same sentence?_

Derek wanted to smack his palm to his forehead, he was making himself feel like such an idiot.

"Um, yeah, we did-"

"Then why did she ask you over?" Derek asked. He noticed that he sounded a bit defensive, and didn't know where it had come from.

_Stop talking. Now._

"We're still friends." Sam said.

"Do you still like her?" Derek pressed.

_Someone please shoot me. Shoot me now._

"Dude, are you okay? You're acting kind of weird." Sam asked, looking slightly concerned.

_And you're avoiding my question. _Derek thought. He was able to control himself enough to not say it out loud, but he couldn't keep the annoyance from his face. Although he had no idea where the annoyance had come from. It was _Sam. _Sam definitely hadn't done anything particularly annoying. And yet, here he was, beginning to feel frustrated.

"I'm fine." Derek tried to tone down his snappish tone.

He had a feeling Sam still didn't believe him, but didn't know what was wrong. But, it would have been weird if he had. Known what was wrong. Because Derek had no clue.

x—x

When Casey heard a knock on the front door, she sighed with relief. Hanging out with Sam was sure to clear her mind. She quickly went to the door and opened it.

"Hey, Sam. Come on in." Casey smiled, and let Sam pass her.

But her smile quickly vanished and was replaced by her mouth opening slightly,once Sam came in the house, and Casey could see that there had been someone standing behind him. Derek smiled at her in an annoying way that made her want to slam the door on him, and lock it.

Derek must have sensed this, since he grabbed a hold of the door, and quickly entered the house.

"What are you doing here?" Casey hissed, momentarily forgetting that she felt awkward around him right then, because she was too annoyed. What _was _he doing here? He had left. Why hadn't he kept _going?_

You know, until he reached Delaware, or something.

"Last time I checked, I lived here." Derek said.

Casey's eyes became slits as she stared at him. "You _left."_

"And then I came back." Derek pointed out, speaking slowly as if talking to someone hard of hearing.

Casey rolled her eyes, and looked at him like he was the most disgusting thing on Earth.

"You two alright?" Sam appeared.

"We're fine." Casey smiled sweetly at Sam before she turned to give Derek a scowl of loathing. Then she walked past Sam and into the living room.

Sam glanced curiously at Derek before following Casey into the room.

Derek idled for a moment.

_What am I doing? _He wondered.

He hadn't planned on following Sam back to the house, but it seemed that before his mind could reach his mouth, his mouth had already decided for him and was saying, "Well, let's go, then."

"What?" Sam had asked.

"To my house. Let's go to my house. Might as well. I have nothing better to do."

_Nothing better to do than oversee Casey and Sam's date? Because that's what it feels like I'm doing. But that's crazy. _Derek thought to himself. _It's not even a date. They're friends. FRIENDS. So what am I doing?_

He could have turned around and walked back out the front door. Casey would have been delighted, and Sam probably wouldn't have noticed. Or he could have gone up the stairs and into his room. Casey wouldn't have been as delighted as she would have been had he left, but she would be plenty satisfied. And Sam, well, probably wouldn't have noticed. But when he heard Casey's giggle bubble from the next room, Derek walked away from the front door, and past the stairs, into the living room.

Her hand was placed on his chest, and she was laughing about something.

_Dude, you can't be that funny. She's obviously pushing you away, and laughing out of courtesy. She's nice like that to everyone. Well. Except for me, of course._

But then Derek realized that a lot of the girls in his 'Derek Venturi Fan Club' laughed lamely at his non humorous jokes, and placed a hand on his chest as well. Usually as a blatant flirting tactic, and as a way to touch him.

Which meant...

"Oh, hey! What's so funny?" Derek asked loudly stepping full into the room.

_What's so funny that you had to _touch _him?_

Sam bashfully backed away from Casey a bit, who dropped her hand to her side.

"Nothing." Sam said.

_Something._

Casey then placed her palm on the small of Sam's back -_again with the _touching- and led him to the couch, where Sam settled down by the arm, and Casey sat next to him.

"We're going to watch a movie." Casey said, glaring at Derek with the, Go-far-far-away-this-minute-before-I-have-to-resort-to-bodily-harm, look.

"Oh, _fun."_ Derek said, sarcastically, but he plopped down on the couch next to Casey. "What are we watching?"

Casey continued to glare, even more intensely, as he had decided to come in such close proximity of her, and Sam continued to sit, apparently oblivious to the glares, sarcasm, and tension.

"Um, I don't know. What are we watching, Casey?" Sam asked.

Casey snapped her look to Sam. "Let's just see what's on t.v." She suggested.

She grabbed the remote, and began flipping through the channels. After a moment, she stopped.

"Oh, cool, I've wanted to see this _forever." _Casey said.

She had stopped on a channel with a really clichéd, stupid, boring chick flick slash teenage high school movie. Derek grimaced at the screen. Casey _knew _he hated movies like that, just as well as he knew that _she _hated movies like that.

"You mind?" Casey asked, directing her question to Sam.

"Uh, no. This is fine." Sam said.

_Stupid Sam. A hot girl talks to him, and suddenly, he's got no opinion. _

_Wait a second. Casey's _not_ hot. _

_Well, she is... NO. _

_Okay, I really shouldn't lie to myself, but.._

_Seriously, what am I doing? I'm going crazy._

Derek cleared his throat, and Casey looked at him.

"Oh. Do you- Do you not want to watch this?" Casey asked, acting like she cared.

"Well, actually-"

"Great! This will be fun!" Casey said, settling into her seat.

"_This'll be fun!" _Derek mocked, murmuring under his breath.

Casey ignored Derek and stared at the screen. She also ignored that Derek kept glancing at her. But after a while she stopped thinking of Derek, as she was too busy focusing on the movie. Derek glanced at Casey again, and saw her grimace at the screen during a particularly dumb scene. He couldn't help but chuckle. Casey's gaze snapped at him.

"Don't like the movie?" Derek asked sweetly. Sam looked over at them.

"Of course I like the movie." Casey said, her eyes turned to slits from glaring at Derek.

"Really, because it just seems like, well, you don't." Derek grinned, although he didn't feel much like grinning.

"I-"

"Are you not having fun? Because I'd hate to think that you're not having fun in Sam's company." Derek said, cutting Casey off.

Casey quickly glanced at Sam, who looked as though he didn't quite know what was going on. Then Casey turned back to Derek.

"Can you come with me to get something from the kitchen, Derek?" Casey said through clenched teeth.

"Ah, I'm sure you can do it yourself. Or perhaps Sam-" Derek waved Casey off, but she grabbed a hold of his arm and yanked him out of his seat, by which time Derek had enough sense to follow willingly as to not be drug into the kitchen by Casey.

"You're unnaturally strong, you know that?" Derek said, rubbing his arm where Casey's claw-like grip had been.

Casey ignored him as she stepped toward him, causing him to hastily step backward.

"Whoa, calm. Calm, Mighty Chia-Pet. Calm." Derek said, raising his hands in front of him.

"A Chia-Pet is a shape that has grass growing out of it." Casey seethed.

"Yeah, well you see, when you get angry, your hair just kind of poofs," Derek said, accentuating his words by making a small 'poof' noise, "And it just starts to look like a-"

"What is your problem?" Casey asked angrily, taking another violent step toward the already cornered Derek.

"Currently my problem is that you're cornering me, looking like you're going to rip my throat out." Derek said.

"Cut the crap, Derek!" Casey said.

"I have no crap to cut." Derek replied smoothly.

"Why are you doing this?"

"It's not like you and Sam are on a date or something." Derek said.

"How do you know?" Casey asked.

Derek felt an odd and unpleasant flipping sensation in his gut. He stared down at Casey.

"Are you?" He asked.

Casey looked up at him to reply, but after a moment realized that they were quite close in the kitchen, again. And she stumbled backwards.

"Whoa." Derek said, stepping toward her, "You okay?"

Casey didn't answer. Instead she just narrowed her eyes at him, quickly grabbed a bag of chips from the counter, and hurried from the kitchen, leaving Derek standing there. And once he realized the position they had once again been in, he slunk upstairs, and into his room, instead of rejoining Casey and Sam in the living room.

x—x

Okay, so this is a somewhat good-length filler chapter. I liked how it turned out, because it gives me base ground to begin the next chapter on. Also, I will be able to start off the next chapter with a Diary entry from Casey, since this one lacked one. I know that there should have been one since the entries are the basis of the whole story-line, but I couldn't comfortably find a place to put one in this chapter. So there will definitely be one in the next chapter, which will hopefully be produced sooner than this one was!

Review, loves.

-Tarryn


	5. Unassigned Royal Escort

_Dear Diary,_

_The day has become even more confusing. Hard to believe, I know._

_Derek left the palace. I've already written that. But shortly after I watched him walk from the palace walls, I phoned Lord Samuel -Here-by to be known as Sam in these private journals- asking him if he would like to accompany me in the palace for the afternoon. I would have invited Duchess Emiline -Here-by known informally as simply Emily- but I had previous knowledge of her being off on a family outing, therefore making her unavailable. And so, Sam was the only other person I could think of. I just dearly needed someone to join me; to distract me. And after conversing briefly with Sam, he willingly obliged to come over, just as I expected a gentleman like him to._

_What I was not expecting was for him to be followed to the palace by none other than the dirty stray, Derek. Once I set eyes on him, what he was doing back, I could not fathom. After what had almost occurred, why would he return so quickly, with such a mischievous and -dare I say- mocking air about him? All previous discomfort was forgotten for the moment, whilst I focused upon my great annoyance. The great annoyance that usually follows whenever Derek enters any room I am in, or is in my general vicinity. _

_I demanded to know why he was there. He gave smart answers about how he lived here. But I do not believe I got a true reason for his insanity. Lord knows, I didn't want to be anywhere near him. Yet, I ended up wedged between him and Sam on the sofa, watching a terribly horrific film. When I was not utterly appalled by what I had willingly chosen to watch in hopes of driving Derek from the room, I was acutely aware of Derek's eyes excessively glancing back to me. _

_After an outburst of banter, I dragged him into the kitchens intending to tear him apart, but I soon realized that our position brought on incredible déjà vu. And for some reason, my reaction was to run. All rational thought disappeared as soon as my discomfort returned. I understood the situation before he did. Really, I don't even know he if knew why I ran out of the kitchen so quickly, without a word. I'm guessing he's figured it out. He's not that dense. I just don't understand the situation. You must admit, it's an awkward situation. How it even began, I couldn't tell you._

_I returned to the living room, where I endured the rest of that horrid movie with Sam. Though, I was somewhat distracted by the situation with Derek. He didn't come back into the living room, so I assume he went into his room. And even now, I still have yet to see him again, tonight, even though Sam has left long ago, and the rest of the family returned home. _

_Part of me is thankful he disappeared. Another is somewhat upset. Because if Derek had been there, Sam may not have gotten so comfortable..._

_HRH_

_Casey_

Casey opened her eyes. They were met by the sight of the ceiling; the sound of something being bounced off the walls in Derek's room. She closed her eyes again, and she heard the phone ring. The muffled noise of someone answering it came from the next room. She opened her eyes again, and listened to the sound of talking through the walls. Her eyes closed again just as the talking abruptly stopped, and she heard a door open a close in the hallway.

She sighed, wishing she could have just fallen asleep, keeping her eyes closed longer, hoping her mind would shut off and she'd drift into sleep. She opened her eyes, expecting the ceiling, but instead, her eyes were met by another pair of eyes and a head of shaggy brown hair.

Casey jumped up, biting her lip to keep herself from screaming in surprise.

"Derek! What are you doing in here?" Casey asked, placing a hand over her chest as if to ease her racing heart. She hadn't even heard him come in.

"You're back with Sam?" Derek asked, ignoring Casey.

"What?" Casey asked, completely taken-aback by the question.

"He told me you kissed." Derek said.

Casey's mouth opened slightly.

"How did you know?" She asked.

"So it's true? You're back together?" Derek asked.

"Wait-"

"This is very bad..."

"We're not-"

"...You can't do this to him again.."

"I'm not-"

"You're setting up your man-trap..."

"That's not-"

"I refuse to let my best friend be the prey again..."

"Shut up!" Casey yelled.

Derek looked surprised, and on the verge of saying something more, but he decided against it, and closed his mouth.

"I'm not getting back together with Sam." Casey said.

"He said you guys kissed." Derek pointed.

"We did-"

"So you kissed..."

"Yes, but-"

"Which, undoubtedly means a relationship reunion..."

"Derek,-"

"You, liar, you..."

"For the love of God, stop interrupting me, man!" Casey shouted dramatically.

Derek paused.

"Man?" He asked, smirking.

"As in the Neanderthal." Casey's eyes became glaring slits.

Derek sneered.

"Sam and I are not getting back together," Casey said.

"But you said-"

"AH! No interrupting," Casey said, "He kissed me. I made it clear that it wasn't going back to that."

"Really? Because he seems to think he's got a chance." Derek said.

"Why do you care?" Casey asked, narrowing her eyes even more at him.

"I'm trying to look out for Sam. Last time I let him walk into your clutches, and he walked away, a broken man." Derek said.

Casey rolled her eyes. "Well, there will be no more broken anything. Me and Sam are kaput." Casey said.

"Thank God. You already caused him enough emotional damage..."

"You know what, scratch that. There very well may be a broken Derek soon." Casey spat.

"You remind me of a wildebeest." Derek quipped.

"Out, Derek." Casey said, pointing toward the door.

"Roar, wildebeest. Roar your fiercest." Derek said.

Before Casey could say anything, Derek left.

x—x

"Now, who let you out of your cage?" Derek asked seriously, as Casey walked into the kitchen the next morning.

Casey sneered, but otherwise said, and did nothing.

Derek eyed her as she walked through the kitchen, gathering her breakfast, taking close notice to her clothes.

"What are you up to?" Derek asked suspiciously, as she sat down at the counter.

"I'm about to eat breakfast," Casey said, "Something you wouldn't understand, since you don't eat. You inhale."

"I meant your clothes." Derek said, causing Casey to look down at her ensemble.

"What about my clothes?"

"They're not your weekend clothes." Derek said.

"What?"

"You're in going out clothes."

Casey raised an eyebrow, "Um, yeah, okay."

"So what are you doing?"

"I told you already, I'm eating-"

"I meant to be wearing going out clothes." Derek clarified.

"How that concerns you, I cannot see." Casey said.

"That won't stop me from asking again," Derek said, picking up his drink, "So what's up with the clothes?"

"Sam and I are going to hang out." Casey shrugged.

The juice Derek had been drinking burst from his mouth, and flew across the counter.

"Ew!" Casey yelled, "Disgusting!"

"You're _what?" _Derek asked.

"I'm saying you're a nuisance! No different from any other day!" Casey cried.

"You said things like weren't like that with you and Sam anymore!" Derek said.

"Why do you care?" Casey yelled before storming from the room.

"I don't know." Derek murmured to himself, running his fingers through his hair.

x—x

_Why am I doing this? Am I insane? _Derek wondered to himself. He really had no idea. But he did know that he was at Smelly Nellie's. Why? He knew the answer to that too. Because he was spying on Casey and Sam.

Yes, you heard that correctly. He was spying on his best friend and his step-sister. He felt extremely idiotic, and also a lot like Casey, since she had once spied on him and Emily.

_Geez, this is stupid. Why am I here? This is really- Hey, wait. Why is she touching his hand. Are they holding hands? Why are they holding hands?_ Derek stared intently from his seat, which he had fitted behind a plant, very close to where Casey and Sam were sitting. Casey had reached out across the table and placed her hands over Sam's.

Without even thinking, Derek saw Casey and Sam's hand, he saw the waiter balancing a tray of five drinks, and then he saw his foot stick out, tripping the waiter, causing the drink to spill over, directly over Casey and Sam's table.

And then, he started thinking again. And, very smartly, he bolted.

But he definitely didn't miss the shrill sound of, "Der-ek!" before he ran out the doors.

x—x

Next chapter will begin with another diary entry, and more will be explained. (:

_Roar, wildebeest. Roar your fiercest._

Ha, ha, I amuse myself, so. ::chuckles::

Review, loves.

-Tarryn


	6. Possibilities

Another update. I have to say, I love you guys! You're all AMAZING! I was so surprised at the feedback I've been getting for this story! Thank you so much to everyone who likes this story, and to everyone who reviews. You're all wonderful! My wonderful Feedback Monkeys. (:

x—x

_Dear Diary,_

_I'll kill him! I swear it, I'll absolutely murder him! It'll be massacre, I tell you! Massacre._

_That dirty rat! I don't even know what he was thinking. If he had returned to the palace I would have asked him. You know, before the whole 'Massacre!' thing. I'd ask him exactly what was going through his mind and what had made him go completely Fruit Loops!_

_I'll tell you what I'm thinking! -Other than Massacre and bloodshed.- I'm thinking that I'm... okay, so scratch that. Massacre and bloodshed are the only things on my mind. How bad do you think it would look if a princess murdered a prince? Yeah, pretty bad, I know. Agh! _

_Do you know what he did? Do you? He completely screwed -pardon- everything up. I was on a somewhat date with Sam, but its whole purpose was to serve as an opportunity for me to explain to him that there was nothing going on between us, since Derek had implied that, because he had kissed me, he thought we were getting back together. This simply isn't true. Sam is great, but things just do not work anymore. So I was at a diner with him, trying to figure out how to break it to him, when suddenly, a waiter tripped and all of the drinks he had been holding fall right over Sam and me, drenching us both. I would have simply chalked it up to an innocent accident._

_If I hadn't seen Derek running from the scene._

_I called after him, but he kept running. There was nothing I could do, he was gone. And the chicken hasn't come home yet. But when he does, he's mine..._

_HRH_

_Casey_

Casey paced the room, continually looking out the window, waiting.

He had to come home at some point.

And she was right. She watched him walk up the driveway, not looking the slightest bit concerned. She glared at him until he was out of sight, and she heard the front door open and close.

When Derek walked into his bedroom, he didn't even notice her, at first. But when he did, he was scared. Really, really scared.

"Jesus Christ, Casey! What are you doing in here?" He asked, looking at her, who was standing, with her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed.

"What were you doing there?" Casey asked.

"Um, where?" Derek asked.

"At Smelly Nellie's." Casey growled.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I wasn't there." Derek said.

"You lying imbecile!" Casey yelled, reaching out and smacking his arm, "What were you doing there? You ruined everything!"

"Whoa!" Derek said, backing up, "And you wonder why I called you a wildebeest."

"Shut up!" Casey yelled.

"You know, you're kind of scaring me." Derek said.

"Good!" Casey said, "Why'd you trip that waiter?"

"What waiter? I know nothing of any waiter."

"Derek, you don't have you don't have to play dumb, you are naturally!" Casey yelled.

"Thus concluding that I don't know what you're talking about." Derek shrugged.

"Derek, I saw you run!" Casey said.

"It could have been someone else." Derek said.

"I wouldn't be mistaken, you're too good looking."

"Ah, that's true, damn, hey wait!"

"Ha! See, I caught you in your own lie!" Casey shouted triumphantly.

"My 'hey wait!' was referring to you saying I was good looking." Derek clarified smugly.

"It was a trap, you idiot!"

"Sure, sure." Derek murmured.

"Ugh! Just get out!" Casey yelled.

Derek started to, and then stopped, "Hey, this is my room, you spaz!"

Casey looked around, "Oh. Right."

She quickly walked past him and left the room.

Derek stood there in his room for a moment thinking, before he quickly left the room.

His destination; Casey's room.

"Geez, Derek!" Casey said, when Derek unexpectedly came into her room, "At least this time I can tell you to get out and you actually have to!"

"Casey-"

"Get out!"

"What did you mean I ruined everything?" Derek asked.

"What?"

"You said that at the restaurant I ruined everything."

"You did!" Casey cried.

"Because you and Sam were joyously reuniting." Derek said.

"No, because I was letting him down, but I didn't get to because of your stupidity!" Casey yelled.

Derek didn't say anything.

"God, I don't even understand why you did it." Casey said.

Derek stared at her.

"You know you're really cute when you're angry?" He asked.

"Get out." Casey said sternly, pointing toward the door.

And Derek obliged.

"You're really cute when you're angry?" Derek murmured to himself, "What is wrong with me?"

Derek wandered downstairs, still not really understanding his actions of the last two days.

_I almost kiss Casey. I'm crazy. I sat in on a date-ish type thing between Casey and Sam on purpose to mess things up. I'm crazy. Casey drags me to the kitchen, and we end up in the same position we had been in earlier, but I didn't realize it at the time. And now that I think about it, if I had realized it, I might have taken advantage of it. I'm crazy. I purposefully messed up Casey and Sam's date. I'm crazy. And I just called Casey cute to her face._

_WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?_

Sighing, Derek rested his head in his hand once he reached the landing.

Then he watched as Nora, his dad, Lizzie, Edwin and Marti, bustled around, Marti struggling to put on her shoes.

"Where are you going?" He asked, walking forward.

"Derek, don't you remember? We're taking them out for reward day, for doing so well in school and with chores this week." Nora said.

"Oh, cool, I'll go get my jacket. Where are we going?" Derek asked, glad at the opportunity away from the house again.

"Actually, part of their request was that you and Casey don't go." George said.

"What?"

"This is our reward," Edwin said, "You really think we want to spend it listening to you two?"

Derek glared at his younger brother.

"Fine, I'll go out on my own-"

"No. We want you to stay here. No wandering about tonight." Nora said.

Derek grunted, "How enjoyable a night this is going to be."

It did have its possibilities.

"Tell Casey what's going on." Nora requested minutes before they left the house.

Derek stared at the door longingly for a moment before he trudged back up the stairs.

He rapped on Casey's door. It opened immediately.

"What do you want?" She sneered.

"Oh, well isn't that a pretty face?" Derek smirked.

_Another comment like that? Dammit._

"Did you need something?"

"Nora told me to come up here to tell you that we're not aloud to leave the house. They took everyone else for some stupid reward night, and they specifically requested our absence as to not ruin their fun...Why are you...Why are you looking at me like that?" Derek trailed off, gulping nervously.

And he couldn't do anything when Casey stepped forward and kissed him.

Was it possible he didn't want to?

x—x

Yes, I realize that was awkward; it was supposed to be. I sort of know what I'm doing now, and I know my next move with this story.

Somewhat.

Review, loves.

-Tarryn


	7. Serious, Yet Not

My Feedback Monkeys! I took advantage of the fact my computer was cooperating with me for a moment, and finished this chapter! Yay! Hope you like it! Oh, and ::shocker:: I actually have a vague idea of what I'm doing with this story now! And I also thought of another story idea I must work on now. Seriously, I have good things in store for you, my loves!

Enjoy!

x—x

She had been listening to him drone, and the listening quickly became watching. And her watching eyes went from his messy hair, to his sparkling eyes, and settled on his lips. And she didn't even think when he had asked why she was looking at him strangely, for in all truth, she had completely stopped listening, and was only seeing. And one thing about Casey, when she saw something she wanted, she went for it. And with her mind momentarily without its constant buzzing, the one thing she wanted was to remove the distance between his lips and her own.

So she did.

And, quite frankly, they both seemed to be enjoying it immensely.

Taken aback at first, he had done nothing, but he quickly recovered from his surprised, and an arm snaked around her waist, as she instinctively wrapped hers around his neck. Using his arm, he slightly lifted her from the floor, with her fighting to keep their lips connected throughout, he spun her around so he could push her against the door, both closing it and giving her a placed to lean as he pressed into her. She sighed against his lips, letting herself melt into him.

And then her mind began buzzing again.

Her eyes snapped open, and she gasped, quickly pushing her palms against Derek's chest to push him away. As surprised as he was when she first started kissing him, Derek stumbled backwards. He looked at her, confused.

They stared at each other for a moment, breathing heavily.

"What was that?" Derek asked, absentmindedly lifting his fingers to his lips.

"A mistake." Casey said desperately before turning around and opening the door, running out.

"Of course it was." Derek rolled his eyes.

Casey quickly went into her room, and once she was there, she didn't quite know what to do. For the moment her mind had been absent of thinking, all her thoughts had come back, full force, and they had jumbled into each other, creating one huge mess. She couldn't sort through it. Especially since her lips felt icy cold and burning hot at the same time. Was that possible? Apparently.

"Oh my, God. What is wrong with me?" Casey murmured to herself. She had no answer to her question.

x—x

_Dear Diary,_

_I've gone crazy. That is the only explanation; I have completely lost my mind. You want to know why I've come to this awful conclusion?_

_DO YOU?_

_I kissed Derek._

_I feel faint._

_HRH_

_Casey_

x—x

When there was a knock on her door, Casey immediately sat bolt upright from where she had been laying on her bed. And her heart started to beat quickly. And she felt like she was going to pass out again, a notion she had just been able to soothe herself away from. Why? Because she knew that whoever was knocking on her door could only be one person. Everyone hadn't gotten home yet. And she really didn't want to deal with him. Or look at him.

I mean, she had gone insane. What if he started talking again, and she got tired of it again, and she kissed him again? It would be completely unacceptable, and she refused to allow any possibility of it happening.

The knocking persisted.

Or what if -_God forbid_- he kissed her? How would she deal with that? It was completely implausible, but hey, when she had kissed him, he had kissed her back, right? Kissed her back. And quite encouragingly at that. So maybe he had wanted to be kissing her. But why? She hadn't wanted to kiss him. She really hadn't.

Seriously. It was a break of the mind. A mistake. An accident. Completely by accident. In no way had she actually wanted to kiss him.

The knocking became louder.

If she had had any control over herself at the time, the incident wouldn't have happened at all. No way. She would never have kissed him. But she had lost her mind for a moment. That was what was to blame. It really was. It really-

Derek, tired of knocking, tried the doorknob. And it worked.

"Dammit." Casey said under her breath. She hadn't locked the door.

So no matter her ignoring his knocks, he was standing in front of her anyway.

"Nice of you to invite me in." Derek said.

Casey tried to ignore him. It was slightly difficult.

"Are you going to speak?" Derek asked.

Casey looked at the ceiling.

"Case." Derek said, reaching out and touching her arm.

Casey reacted by pulling away too quickly and toppling over the side of her bed.

"Jeez, Case. One kiss and you're freaking out." Derek joked. Casey didn't laugh. Instead she turned an incredible shade of pink.

"That...I...it... " Casey stammered.

"Why are you taking it so seriously?" Derek asked.

Casey's jaw dropped. "Why _aren't _you taking it seriously?"

"It was just a kiss." Derek shrugged. "That you started, by the way."

_It was just a kiss. _The words sounded like something someone would say, to make it no big deal, only to have the situation a humongous deal later on.

"So what if I started it. I just got tired of you talking." Casey said, partially truthful.

"So you stopped me with your lips?" Derek shook his head. "Kind of strange, even for a weirdo like you."

Casey blushed harder.

"Can we just not talk about this?" Casey asked.

"Hmm... no." Derek shook his head.

"Why do you want to talk about it?" Casey groaned.

"Maybe I just want to get you talking so I can stop you with your very own method." Derek waggled his eyebrows.

Casey threw a pillow at his head.

"That is not funny. This isn't a joke. Just go." Casey said, suddenly mortified.

_How can he be talking about this with such ease? How can we be talking about this at all? _Casey asked herself. She definitely didn't want to talk about it. It was making her extremely uncomfortable.

"Ease up." Derek said.

"This is about the most awkward situation _ever_, which you are making worse by not acting normally." Casey murmured.

"What's acting normally in this kind of situation?" Derek wanted to know.

"Embarrassed!" Casey cried. "Embarrassed is the normal way of acting. Awkward. Strange. Quiet. Not laughing."

"Well, why? That would be the normal reaction. I don't like following a storybook reaction. It's stupid." Derek shrugged.

"God, you are so difficult." Casey said.

"Wanna kiss again?" Derek asked.

"Der-ek!" Casey cried, even more mortified. She threw another pillow at his head, but he caught it.

"What? Am I not supposed to ask. I suppose not. You sure didn't. Not that I minded." Derek smirked.

Was it wrong that he was finding amusement in Casey turning brighter and brighter shades of red every time he spoke?

"Can you go now?" Casey pleaded.

"Nope." Derek shook his head, stepping toward her.

Noting the single step, Casey voice got higher. "Please?"

"Begging now? I actually like that." Derek smirked.

"Der-ek!" Casey cried.

"You're the only one who says my name like that." Derek noted, taking another step toward her.

"So?" Casey asked.

"So," Derek leaned down, so that he was eye level with Casey, "It's somewhat endearing."

And they were kissing again. Which probably isn't surprising.

But what might be, is that Casey beat him to the punch. Again!

x—x

I didn't really plan on ending _another_ chapter with a kiss, but that's just how it turned out.

Hint for this stories future: Smooth sailing ::la la la la la:: CRASH::uh oh::

Hehehehe[

Review, loves.

-Tarryn


	8. Courting Casey

Okay, I'm really trying to think of what to do with this one. I mean, I've got the general idea of how I want it to go down, but I haven't worked out any of the kinks or details yet. Plus I've been super busy with school, and computer troubles, and when I am able to sit down and write, it ends up being a burst of inspiration for one of my unpublished stories (all of which I seriously cannot wait for you guys to see). So I'm trying really hard for this one. Sorry that it's all coming out really slow.

Enjoy!

.I own nothing.

x—x

By the time Casey and Derek pulled apart from their kiss, they were both lying on Casey's bed. He was playing with a strand of her hair, and she was resting her head against the mattress, staring at his shirt.

"You know, that's the second time you've kissed me." Derek murmured.

"Yeah, Derek, I can count." She replied, squeezing her eyes shut, trying not to think.

"You know that's the second time you kissed me and you looked like you hated me right beforehand." Derek said.

Casey felt a blush creep across her cheeks. "I don't hate you, Derek." Casey murmured quietly.

"I kind of figured, but just so you know, you're really good at messing with a guys head." Derek smirked.

Casey sat straight up and jabbed a finger into his chest. "Hey, just because I don't hate you, doesn't mean that I like you." Casey said.

Derek propped himself up on his elbows, and then brought one hand to his chest and rubbed the spot Casey had poked. "Yeah, because you go around making out with guys you don't like." Derek said snidely.

"We kissed. We did not make out." Casey said pointedly.

Derek rolled his eyes. "Such inexperience." He shook his head. "That," He pointed down to the bed they were sitting on, "Was making out."

Casey sneered at him. "That," She pointed like he had, "Was hormones." She glared at him, and then began to get off of the bed, but Derek reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back onto the bed.

"That was not just hormones." Derek shook hid head.

"Like you'd ever admit it if you thought it was anything more." Casey said.

Derek looked at her blankly. "That's what what I was just getting at, Case."

Casey thought about it for a moment, and then sighed, shaking her head. "Fine. So what are you saying?" She asked.

"I'm saying," Derek paused for a moment, biting his lip, which -no matter how hard she tried not to- caused Casey to stare at his mouth. "That we should go out on a date."

Casey burst into laughter, tearing her eyes away from his mouth, and Derek narrowed his eyes at her. "What?" He asked.

"Says the guy who doesn't want to be seen passing down the same hall at school with me." Casey rolled her eyes, trying not to laugh some more.

"Hey, if I enjoyed making out with you that much, might as well try a date." Derek shrugged.

Casey was silent for a moment and the she shook her head. "This is a very bad idea." She said.

"It may not be that bad. I mean, if you're the one who kissed me, you had to have enjoyed it." Derek said, smirking, and giving her a playful nudge with his elbow.

"Derek..."

"Come on, Case. For once, don't think about it." Derek pleaded.

"I didn't think when I kissed you." Casey pointed out.

"See! I bring out your inner wild child." Derek said jokingly as his smirk grew bigger.

Casey glared at him and Derek laughed.

"Come on. It's just one harmless date." Derek said.

Casey sighed. _Just a harmless date. _To her it sounded like something someone would say only to have it become a ginormous disaster later. Like in the movie The Mummy. _It's just a book. No harm ever came from reading a book. _Yeah, until that book unleashes a whole lot of hell on you. Just a date. No harm ever came from going out on a date. Until it all goes wrong and becomes a lot more messed up than it already is.

Derek watched Casey, and he could see her entire thinking process written all across her face.

"Case. Seriously. Stop thinking." Derek said.

Casey bit her lip, almost afraid of saying anything, but when she looked up and saw him staring at her so gently, as if waiting, actually waiting, in bated breath for her answer, her mouth had formed the word yes before she could stop herself.

Derek grinned and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek.

"I've got to go for hockey practice, but when I come back I will fully be able to tell you when we're going, for then I will know where I will take you." He smiled before getting up and leaving Casey's room.

Casey was in a daze, in between scolding herself for agreeing to the date and being shocked by the caring kiss on the cheek that seemed totally un-Derek-like.

She let herself fall back onto her bed, putting a hand to her cheek until it trailed up to her forehead as she wondered why she had completely lost her mind.

Casey pulled herself off of her bed and turned on her computer.

_Dear Diary,_

_I feel that my trusty royal counselor, Sir Paul and I should look into a mental health facility for me to reside in for the rest of my days. I don't think it really matters if it is before or after Derek courts me. I've already lost my mind, so the results should be the same either way._

_I KISSED DEREK TWICE AND AGREED TO GO OUT WITH HIM._

_...Help._

_HRH_

_Casey_

x—x

I feel soooo bad about taking so long to update, and then having it be so extremely small and pointless, but I find it much easier to make the date happen in a separate chapter.

Review, loves.

-Tarryn


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